Instead of potentially striking out with an inaugural pay-per-view flop, Bellator 106 featured a lightweight championship rematch of Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez and drew an impressive 1.1 million viewers.

Instead of potentially striking out with an inaugural pay-per-view flop, Bellator 106 featured a lightweight championship rematch of Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez and drew an impressive 1.1 million viewers.

The event, which aired on Spike TV, was the most-watched live MMA event in Bellator history – and the most-watched MMA event of fall 2013.

Chandler-Alvarez II was supposed to be the co-main event leading up to former UFC light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson fighting in the main event.

Besides the main event of Chandler vs. Alvarez II, I was rather disappointed with the rest of the card. Furthermore, watching Ortiz vs. Rampage as the main event of the PPV would have likely been a disaster – both aging fighters have battled injuries, an ugly war of words with UFC President Dana White, and lackluster MMA skills over the past few years.

However, watching Chandler and Alvarez fight over five-rounds, 25 minutes of a competitive, fun fight made up for everything before it.

For anyone that missed the main event, Spike TV will air Chandler vs. Alvarez II this Friday at 8:00PM EST. Bellator will use the replay as a transition into a Bellator heavyweight with Cheick Kongo fighting Peter Graham and lightweight contenders Joe Warren and Travis Marx.

Besides the UFC, which has seen its own struggles with PPV buy rates, no other MMA promotion simply has the following to host a PPV. Even if Ortiz manages to recover from his neck injury and step into the cage again, I hope Bellator puts him in the cage against Rampage and it isn’t chosen to headline a PPV. If anything, a possible trilogy fight in 2014 between Alvarez and Chandler should headline any Bellator PPV card.

Ironically, I was unable to watch UFC Fight Night 30 due to Comcast not broadcasting FOX Sports 2, so I had to watch the event in Spanish. It’s these types of small hiccups that could lead Bellator to long-term success with its free MMA events, especially if CEO Bjorn Rebney can continue to convince Spike to promote its cards.

Many industry insiders believed this past Saturday’s Chandler-Alvarez II card would, or at least should, draw big ratings for SPIKE, and according to a press release from the network that was the case.

Many industry insiders believed this past Saturday’s Chandler-Alvarez II card would, or at least should, draw big ratings for SPIKE, and according to a press release from the network that was the case.

SPIKE has announced that the November 2nd, Bellator event delivered 1.1 million viewers from 9:00pm to 12:45am, and peaked at 1.4 million shortly after 11:00PM. The network’s statement also relays that the broadcast “reached its high mark with Men 18-49 with a 1.1 rating for the Alvarez-Chandler bout. The telecast also ranked #2 in cable in its timeslot with Men 18-49.”

As a result of the ratings, the card was “the most-watched in Bellator event history and the most watched mixed martial arts show on television this fall.”

The event, which was hosted by the Long Beach Convention Center, also featured Daniel Straus defeating Pat Curran by decision for the featherweight belt, and Emanuel Newton earning a UD victory over “King Mo” Lawal for the interim light-heavyweight title.

In the thrilling headliner, Alvarez avenged his 2011 submission loss to Chandler by scoring a split decision victory. SPIKE has announced that it will replay the bout this Friday at 8:00 PM, prior to the live Bellator 107 broadcast.

Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler led the way last nigh at Bellator 106 in terms of action, and the highly regarded lightweights were also two of the highest paid fighters on the card.

According to multiple reports, the California State Athletic Commission has disclosed the payroll for the event, which reveals Alvarez earned $160,000 for the bout (which includes a $80,000 win bonus). The former champ Chandler, meanwhile, earned $95,000.

Alvarez worked his way to a razor thin, split decision victory over Chandler, to avenge the submission loss he suffered versus the lightweight in 2011.

The night’s other big earner was UFC veteran Joe Riggs, who made $100,000 for winning the first ever “Fight Master” competition. The welterweight scored a unanimous decision victory over fellow finalist Mike Bronzoulis, who earned $5,000.

Here are the salary figures that were disclosed to the CSAC by Bellator. The card was hosted by Long Beach, California’s Convention Center.

Eddie Alvarez made the most of his return to Bellator last night, following a long and at times ugly legal battle with the promotion, by narrowly defeating Michael Chandler . With… Read More

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Rebney Responds to UFC President

By FCF Staff

Eddie Alvarez made the most of his return to Bellator last night, following a long and at times ugly legal battle with the promotion, by narrowly defeating Michael Chandler . With the split decision win, Alvarez avenged a 2011 loss to the highly regarded lightweight and reclaimed the promotion’s belt.

After the event, UFC President Dana White took to Twitter to congratulate the fighter, who not too long ago, the UFC tried to sign. White also took the opportunity to take a verbal jab at his competitor, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney.

After the UFC extended a contract offer to Alvarez, which the fighter accepted, Bellator argued in court that they had matched the offer (as was their contractual right). Eventually Alvarez and Bellator elected to settle out of court and the fighter was booked to fight Chandler.

Rebney has referred to Chandler, who Bellator has signed to a long term contract, as the best lightweight in MMA.

Following the event, Rebney was asked to comment on White’s tweet, and the executive responded (quotes via MMA Fighting.com):

“You know what, I’ve kind of picked my spots where I thought it was necessary to respond,” said Rebney. “Some of his valuation comments were ridiculous given that his partner [FOX] paid us tens of millions of dollar for our rights in Latin America and some of the other things.”

Fans hoping to see a replay of the instant classic Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler produced in 2011 weren’t disappointed tonight at Bellator 106, as the two engaged in another thrilling war.

The decorated wrestler Chandler landed several takedowns throughout the fight, and controlled more of the action on the ground, but when the action was on its feet Alvarez battered the champ’s face with strikes.

Heading into the fifth round Chandler appeared to be headed to a title defense, but Alvarez threatened the dynamic fighter with several choke attempts and landed numerous strikes from the top position.

After the highly competitive fight, two of the three judges ruled that Alvarez had done enough to end Chandler’s reign.

In the card’s other title fights, Daniel Straus grinded his way to a UD win over Pat Curran to take the featherweight title, and Emanuel Newton outscored “King Mo” Lawal with strikes to win the interim light-heavyweight belt (via unanimous decision).

Here are the official weigh-in results for Bellator 106 tomorrow night in Long Beach, California, which will see lightweight champion Michael Chandler rematch Eddie Alvarez in the main event.

Chandler came in at 154.8 for the bout while the former champ Alvarez weighed in at 154.5. In their first meeting at Bellator 58 in 2011, Chandler took the lightweight belt by tapping Alvarez out in the fourth round with a rear-naked-choke.

Saturday’s card will also feature featherweight champion Pat Curran taking on Daniel Strauss, who Curran knocked out back in 2009, and “King Mo” Lawal versus Emanuel Newton for the interim light-heavyweight title.

You can watch the live weigh-ins for Bellator 106 right here at Full Contact Fighter, beginning at 8:00PM EST / 5:00PM PST.

The card, which will be hosted by the Long Beach Convention Center, will feature… Read More

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By FCF Staff

You can watch the live weigh-ins for Bellator 106 right here at Full Contact Fighter, beginning at 8:00PM EST / 5:00PM PST.

The card, which will be hosted by the Long Beach Convention Center, will feature a rematch between lightweight champion Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez in the main event. Chandler submitted Alvarez in the fourth round of their first meeting, which took place at Bellator 58 in November, 2011.

This Saturday’s Bellator 106 has received another change due to injury, as the promotion has announced that UFC vet Karo Parisyan has been forced to withdraw from the Long Beach bound card. As a result, Alenjandro Garcia… Read More

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Parisyan

By FCF Staff

This Saturday’s Bellator 106 has received another change due to injury, as the promotion has announced that UFC vet Karo Parisyan has been forced to withdraw from the Long Beach bound card. As a result, Alenjandro Garcia will step in to fight Cristiano Souza.

Garcia (14-5) heads into the bout having gone 3-1 with 1 no contest in his last five fights. Most recently, Garcia knocked out Roberto Vargas while competing for King of the Cage in February.

Souza (6-0) hasn’t fought since last November when he KO’d Robert Otani at Bellator 80. Prior to that the ATT vet scored a unanimous decision win over John Kelly at Bellator 50 in 2011.

Bellator 106 will feature lightweight champion Michael Chandler taking on Eddie Alvarez in the main event.

Bellator has released an updated line-up for the promotion’s November 2nd card in Long Beach this Saturday, which recently lost “Rampage” Jackson versus Tito Ortiz, as a result of… Read More

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Open Workouts to be Held This Thursday

By FCF Staff

Bellator has released an updated line-up for the promotion’s November 2nd card in Long Beach this Saturday, which recently lost “Rampage” Jackson versus Tito Ortiz, as a result of the latter suffering a neck injury. In addition, the card will no longer feature Cheick Kongo taking on Vinicius Queiroz in the heavyweight final, as expected, following news that Queiroz has also been injured.

The entire Bellator 106 card will be broadcast on SPIKE, as plans for the promotion’s first pay-per-view were ditched after Ortiz withdrew. Bellator has also announced that open workouts will be held this Thursday, October 31st at Long Beach Arena (300 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA) and is free and open to the public. The workouts will begin at 12pm PST on Thursday, and will feature Michael Chandler, Eddie Alvarez, King Mo, Emanuel Newton, Pat Curran and Daniel Straus.

It looks as though Bellator’s November 2nd card has lost another fight, after Tito Ortiz had to withdraw due to a neck injury, as heavyweight Cheick Kongo has announced he’s no longer fighting at the event.

It looks as though Bellator’s November 2nd card has lost another fight, after Tito Ortiz had to withdraw due to a neck injury, as heavyweight Cheick Kongo has announced he’s no longer fighting at the event.

The UFC veteran posted on Twitter recently: “now that the PPV is cancelled, my fight is moved to Bellator 107, Nov 8, Thackerville and will be the MAIN EVENT”

Kongo was set to fight Vinicius Queiroz, however, MMA Fighting.com is reporting that the latter has a knee injury and won’t be able to fight. Bellator has not made any official announcement regarding the situation.

Kongo (19-8-2) advanced to the finals of Bellator’s heavyweight tourney by taking out Mark Godbeer with strikes at Bellator 102 earlier this month. Queiroz (7-3), on the other hand, won his semifinal bout by flooring UFC vet Lavar Johnson with a punch just 23 seconds in.

Ortiz was set to fight “Rampage” Jackson in the main event, and a result of his withdrawal, the event is no longer a pay-per-view.

Although Tito Ortiz was forced to withdraw from Bellator’s November 2nd card in Long Beach, “Rampage” Jackson was hoping to fight a replacement and maintain the event’s pay-per-view status.

The former UFC champ appeared on the latest edition of “Inside MMA” to discuss Ortiz’s injury, as well as Bellator’s decision to move the card to SPIKE.
Jackson relayed that he’s eager to fight because he’s “trained really hard” for the event, and that he’s “back”, after having his “knees fixed.”

Jackson (32-11) hasn’t fought since January when he lost to Glover Teixeira at UFC on FOX 6, which was his third consecutive defeat.

As expected would be the case, Bellator has announced that its featherweight champion, Pat Curran, will look to defend his title at the promotion’s upcoming November 2nd, pay-per-view event. Curran will take on Season Six tourney… Read More

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By FCF Staff

As expected would be the case, Bellator has announced that its featherweight champion, Pat Curran, will look to defend his title at the promotion’s upcoming November 2nd, pay-per-view event. Curran will take on Season Six tourney winner Daniel Strauss at the card, which will be hosted by the Long Beach Arena.

Curran (19-4) is coming off a first round, choke-out win over Shahbulat Shamhalaev in Apri, after working his way to a split decision win over Patricio Freire in January.

“I’ve been with Bellator since the beginning, and seen my career grow as Bellator has,” Curran said in the announcement. “It means the world to me to be able to defend my title on our first Pay-Per-View, especially with such a tough fight ahead of me. I’m not taking Straus lightly. He is an incredibly tough featherweight, and I’m not even thinking about our first fight in 2009, we are two totally different guys right now. This card is stacked, and I want to give Bellator and all our fans a great show.”

Strauss (21-4), meanwhile, hasn’t fought since October when he submitted Alvin Robinson in the second round at Bellator 78.

“It’s finally here. I’ve faced so many setbacks over the last year, and my title shot is finally here,” Straus said. “When Pat and I met in 2009, we were two completely different fighters. Both of us have developed so much in that time, but I still want that loss of my record. That fight taught me a lot about where I was as a fighter, especially considering I’ve gone 17-1 since we last met. I’m just excited to be able to get a chance to fight for a title on a huge stage like this. I really don’t know how this fight is going to end, but I envision it going quickly. This won’t be a long, drawn out process. I’m going in for the kill.”

The November 2nd card will be headlined by a light-heavyweight bout between former UFC champs Tito Ortiz and “Rampage” Jackson. Lightweight champion Michael Chandler and former champ Eddie Alvarez will also fight for a second time at the event.

Just days after Bellator announced that Eddie Alvarez is returning to the organization and will rematch Michael Chandler at its first pay-per-view event, the promotion has confirmed that “King Mo” Lawal will fight Emanuel Newton for… Read More

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By FCF Staff

Just days after Bellator announced that Eddie Alvarez is returning to the organization and will rematch Michael Chandler at its first pay-per-view event, the promotion has confirmed that “King Mo” Lawal will fight Emanuel Newton for a second time at the November 2nd card. Bellator 106 will be hosted by the Long Beach Convention Center in California, and will feature Tito Ortiz taking on fellow UFC vet “Rampage” Jackson in the main event.

Newton (21-7-1) KO’d Lawal with a spinning backfist at Bellator 90 in February, and went on to win the light-heavyweight tournament by scoring a UD win over Mikhail Zayats.

Lawal (11-2) returned to action at Bellator’s “Summer Series”, and won the promotion’s latest tournament by stopping Seth Petruzelli and Jacob Noe. The upcoming November 2nd bout will be to determine Bellator’s interim, 205 pound champion, as reigning champ Attila Vegh is recovering from a shoulder injury.

“Listen, I’m going to be real honest about this. Emanuel is fake as hell,” Lawal said in a press release from the promotion. “He runs his mouth about being a black skinhead or something, and likes to act real hard. He’s as hard as baby shit. I’m going to destroy this guy. He landed a shot on me in our first fight, nothing more than that. I’m better than him in every facet of the game. I didn’t even shoot on him that first fight. I can take this fight anywhere I want it, and I will. It’s over. I’m taking that belt in Long Beach, bringing it back to Las Vegas, and no one is getting it back. Not Vegh, Not Rampage. Not Tito, not anyone. It’s mine. Payback is bitch, Emanuel.”

“I’m not going to spout off and trash Mo, I don’t have to do that,” Newton added “I know Mo is going to run his mouth and try to sell his game, but I don’t have anything to prove. I’m the one that knocked him out, and he’s the one that has to deal with that loss on his record, not me. I did it once, and I’m going to do it again, this time on an even bigger stage. History likes to repeat itself, and November 2nd Mo’s going to have to deal with another big loss on his record.”

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has relayed recently that the November 2nd, PPV card could feature several title fights, and that featherweight champion Pat Curran may compete.